


The Former

by QueenofChains



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-06-04
Packaged: 2018-02-03 10:11:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1740881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenofChains/pseuds/QueenofChains
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of them have chosen different paths, and haven't seen each other in years. However, a phantom who was thought as long forgotten brings them together again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Former

**Author's Note:**

> Kuroko no Basuke (c) Tadatoshi Fujimaki

"Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for our descent."

 

The pilot's voice rang throughout the whole plane. His voice was smooth, and his words on the announcement were crystal clear. The passengers did as they were told and the stewards and stewardesses exited the cabin and prepared themselves as well. 

Inside the cockpit, two of the pilots were checking the status of the plane and send out the signal to the control tower to the airport where they were to land, and made sure to double-check. After all, they were flying one of the biggest passenger planes, and lives are at stake. 

As they were doing so, a light conversation was shared between the two. 

"It's been nice working with you. I believe this will be your last for a while," one pilot said. He was of Caucasian blood - bearing blond hair and blue eyes. The words which he spoke with his Western accent rolled easily from his lips, and afterwards gave a small smile. 

"Hopefully not," the second pilot replied. He turned to his co-pilot, revealing his sunset-colored eyes. He sported blond hair that was styled downward. Even though English was not his mother tongue, he spoke it fluently and gracefully - adapting a British accent as to where he spent his college years. He chuckled then gave a small smile. 

"Say, sir..." the first pilot asked once more. "What made you decide to go and take charge of this flight to Tokyo?" 

The second pilot, in contrast with his co-pilot, is taking this as a part-time job. His primary occupation is an international model. But since he studied at flight school, he is eligible to drive a plane. He had his own chopper and jet plane to ride from one country to another, but preferred to drive huge passenger planes to get to one place to another. 

The second pilot simply stared at his hands, which were perfectly fit on the wheel. He let out a small yet genuine smile. "I have a friend back there who has a big moment." He spoke in a soft voice. He let out a sigh, and continued. "Me and my friends had chosen to walk different paths, and may not see each other as much as we want to. But then, we promised that we would be there for the big moments."

His mind flashed memories of ten years ago - of his memories of a junior and high school student. He was starting off his career as a model, but still managed to have friends along the way. He remembered the good times they had spent together. He remembers every single one of the people that were important during his journey, ending with a boy whose hair and eyes match the day sky. 

"I'm going back, Kurokocchi..." he whispered in his native tongue. Oh how he missed it so. 

 

* * *

 

Their descent was a success, and everyone on the plane was safe. The two co-pilots then reported to the office as they were required. After everything was settled, they changed into their casual clothes and waved goodbye to each other, promising that they would hang out. The second pilot, the one with the sunset eyes, walked to the entrance of the airport. He checked the phone on his pocket, finding a ton of unread text messages and unanswered calls. He sighed; they should have known that phones should be turned off during a plane travel. 

As he walked slowly towards the entrance of the airport, reading the messages. He giggled slightly as all of the messages threatened him one way or another for not answering and/or being late. Checking the time, he was two hours late compared to their designated meeting time. He scratched the back of his head because he knew he would expect a smack in every part of his body the moment he was spotted by them — that is  _if they didn't change_.

He returned the phone to his pocket. Suddenly, a shoe came out, flying out of nowhere which was coming at him. It directly hit him in the face, which made him stumble and the cap that he was wearing flew off. He held his reddened cheeks as he looked at the shoe that hit him. It was a dark blue Nike Air Jordan with black streaks. He only knew of one person who had and loved this type of shoe. 

"Kise!" a loud voice filled the entrance of the airport, and heavy footsteps were approaching him. He looked at the person that was approaching him; his dark blue hair and tan skin was recognized by the pilot in a split second. 

"Aominecchi..." he called out in a whisper, staring at the daunting figure that was now infront of him. The tanned man took the pilot by the back of his collar, dragging him outside. The people that had witnessed the scene were confused, but returned to their daily lives as the two were now out of the building. Security didn't even bother to look into this matter, for they knew that this matter was nothing to be fussed for. This had happened a lot of times in this airport, anyway.

 

The blue-haired man dragged him at the small park at the entrance of the airport. He then let go of him, throwing him in the green grass. "Ow, ow, ow..." the blond complained, trying to massage his back and butt from the impact. "Do you have to be so rough, Aominecchi?" he then looked up, seeing that the man named Aomine was not alone, but was accompanied by a  _lot_  of people. 

"Idiot, we waited for you for two freakin' hours!" one of them said, delivering a kick to the stomach at the same time. This man had short black hair and sharp cobalt eyes. Even though it has been eight years since he was his captain, he was still as harsh to the blond as ever. 

"Kasamatsu-senpai, it's nice to see you again..." the blond-haired, Kise, said. He was struggling to talk because he was just punched in the gut, yet he forced to make a jolly impression.   


"And don't call me senpai! We're not in high school anymore, you dumbass..." Kasamatsu retorted, folding his arms.

"W-why are you here?" Kise then asked, still recovering from Kasamatsu's kick. "W-we're supposed to meet at the basketball court near Maji Burger..." If anything, Kise was surprised. Maji Burger and that old basketball court still stands up to this day. 

"Nanodayo. Since you were late, we decided to get you and teach you a lesson," a green-haired man stated nonchalantly, adjusting his glasses in the process. On his bandaged left hand, he held a cup which he recognized as the vanilla shake at Maji Burger. It seemed that it has slightly melted but he didn't take a sip of it, concluding that it must be his day's lucky item. He smiled as he thought that the man named Midorima still believed in astral superstitions and still has a funny accent. 

"Shin-chan was just worried you would get lost since you haven't been here in a while," a shorter man beside Midorima said. He had straight black hair and silver eyes. He smiled sheepishly at the green-haired man. 

"Shut up, Takao..."

"How unoriginal can you get, Shin-chan? You've been saying that line all these years~" the man named Takao whined, pouting. 

"Hey, can we go now? I want to eat the cake..." one man complained, his purple eyes showing disinterest with the ongoing subject. He was the tallest out of all of them. His hair was that of the same color as his eyes and was placed in a low ponytail. He was holding a huge box, and a huge plastic full of food that he might not share to the rest of them.

"Yeah, can we just go?" another man said, massaging his forehead. He had short black hair like Kasamatsu's, and his narrow, black eyes where hidden beneath oval-shaped glasses. It would probably be a matter of time because he breaks an artery.

"Hey, can we just enjoy being young?" one man said. He sported brown hair and eyes. He was beside the guy with the oval-shaped glasses. His voice was calming and easy-going. He then started adjusting the canes that were supporting him, letting his encased knee rest. 

"They're not kids anymore! We're not in high school anymore! We're adults and we have our own jobs now! They're embarrassing me..." the man in the glasses, Hyuga complained. He then looked at his former teammate, irritated yet concerned. 

"Teppei, shouldn't you be sitting down? And why the heck did you even go with us?! The doctor said you shouldn't be walking too much!" Hyuga continued. Iron Heart, Kiyoshi Teppei did as he was told. He sat on the nearest bench and rested. He has been in this condition ever since his second year of high school. Due to this, he was unable to play his sport, basketball, at the rest of his high school and so is his college years, yet he never regrets it. 

"Hey Riko, shouldn't you be scolding these people by now?" Hyuga said, turning to the female brunette that was standing beside him. 

"That is not my responsibility," former Seirin coach, Aida Riko, stated flamboyantly. She let out a mocking smile as she turned to a certain redhead that has been examining the situation all this time. "It'll be a matter of time before he starts." 

And the female coach was right. The man with red hair and heterochromatic eyes, Akashi Seijuro, walked at the center of the group, stopping the chaos. Kise had got up from the grass and all of the people who talked, save Hyuga, Teppei, and Riko, had stood up straight.

  
"It's going to rain soon, so we have no time to waste," Akashi started; his voice stern and demanded control and attention. "I would also want to know if everyone had brought their assignments..." 

He then called everyone who had an assignment, let them tell what they brought, and raise them up for everyone to see. After everything was checked and confirmed, Akashi let out a sigh, and told them that they were ready to go.

 

They walked to their destination, as it was just a few hundred meters away from them, and that they were too many to get transportation. They were a total of 19 people. It consisted of the entire Seirin male’s basketball team from the school’s second year, and two people each who graduated from Kaijo, Shutoku, Touou, Yosen, and Rakuzan.

Kise looked at everyone. It was nice to have everyone reunited. Their presence made him feel like they were travelling back in time, where they were at the peak of their youth; where basketball was the thing that bound them all together. They were once enemies, but were united by the love of the sport and the person whose love of the sport was possibly the strongest out of all of them. His style of basketball was unusual, but was proven to be highly reliable during a game. 

But then, all of them have chosen different paths. Most stayed to play basketball during their college years up till now, some didn't. Some had an outstanding turn of events in their life for them, which may be beneficial or detrimental. One person had chosen the most unknown path.

The blond continued to survey everyone. Some were having light chit-chat with their old teammates, and some were walking silently. Some smiled, some frowned. But all of them had the devastated look in their eyes. But what caught Kise's attention the most is the red-headed man of Seirin. He was known to be a ' _Miracle who did not become a Miracle_ '; who was known with his insanely high jumps; who has entered the ZONE more than anyone else has; who was known to be part of the Seirin Rookie Duo. He  _was_  the light. 

_Now, it seemed that the light in his eyes had totally disappeared._

* * *

They have finally arrived at their destination. The huge, black gate stood infront of them. It was opened for them by one of the guards stationed. They passed through it, and there the wide grass field greeted them. A huge Alaskan Malamute, around eight years of age, came out of the guardhouse and walked with them.

The howl of the wind turned stronger as the blond noticed the change of colors in the sky. The once dainty, sky blue color of it turned pale; the white clouds turning gray. Like what Akashi said, it was a matter of time before it was to rain.

"Let's hurry; it's about to rain," Akashi, who was leading the group, stated. All of them fastened their paces as Kise felt a drop of water run to his cheeks.

They had walked deeper into the grasslands, which was now ornamented with flowers on top of stone. And at that time, the rain started to pour. It was just a light drizzle, but Kise knew that the rain would  
pour harder a little later. He didn't care; nobody cared. They would stay here at their heart's content.

And there, they stopped by a tree, which was the place they aimed to go to. At the bottom of the tree, there was a white marble shaped into a two-meter obelisk, with a rectangular base.

The team had gotten to work - the two of them had set up a huge umbrella, Hyuga and Aida helped Kiyoshi to sit down on a mobile chair, and the rest had taken out their assigned items. They had anticipated the arrival of the huge Alaskan Malamute with sky blue eyes, and one had given him food. All had placed their assignments in their hands while their bags were stacked under the huge umbrella.

All was then silent, looking down at the marble. It had characters engraved in gold and black. They all knew what it said and had memorized the statement, placing it in their hearts. The silence was  
then followed by the rain, which has temporarily stopped.

One had stepped forward. It was the former captain of the Generation of Miracles, Akashi Seijuro. He had lit incense on his hands, placing it on the small cylinder holder that was with the marble. It was then followed by the others— firstly by Momoi Satsuki, the pink-haired manager, together with Kise had placed flowers; white lilies to be exact. They had placed in on top of the white surface. Midorima and Murasakibara had offered food; Midorima had placed the vanilla shake that was on  
his hand while Murasakibara had placed a beautifully-decorated cupcake beside the shake. Aomine came in last, taking a smooth-surfaced basketball and placing it on the grass, beside the marble.  
  


 

After the ritual, all came back to their original positions, making small movements. No one dared to speak, but everyone expected someone,  _anyone_ , to start and talk. No one, however, had the courage to do so. Not even Kise, who had spoken infront of a lot of people, could have enough courage to say something. He knew he wanted to speak; he had a lot in his mind that he wanted to say. He felt everyone did, too.

It was then someone had let out a loud sigh coming from the tanned man. All had looked at him, waiting for his words. But, he was then again silent, his usual sharp eyes softening as he looked into the marble.

"So..." he slurred, scratching the back of his head. It was general knowledge that Aomine was never good with words; that's why he let his body talk for him, resulting to his fights. It was the second time he was forbidden to do so. The first time he did it, he had restrained himself to punch a wall. Now, he was itching to punch the marble he was staring at.

"I finally got up my ass to see you." He decided to go on a casual approach. Kise knew that the message Aomine was giving this  _to_  would not even believe if he were to say something so formal. It was not Aomine, and he knew  _he_  knew that.

"I know I haven't seen you in a while, y'know, police stuff. But hey, cut me some slack. At least I'm here now, right? Everyone's here now. Everyone's itchin' to see you..." He had backed down. He was seen biting his lip, trying to suppress something that they didn't know.

"Kuro-chin, I made you a cupcake." One person said out loud. His voice was lazy in nature, but there was something wrong with it. His way of speaking should be direct and without pause, but he was shaky at the first part. He wasn't used to saying  _that name_  for a while now.

"Eh? It's weird saying your name, Kuro-chin. It's not because you're not showing yourself lately. Hope you enjoy the cupcake, though; it's a bestseller on my bakery. Have you gained weight though? I think you need to. Come by my bakery sometime, I'll feed you for free..."

"For the nth time, Murasakibara. Kuroko is not a pet that you could just feed and talk to like that," Midorima snapped, adjusting his glasses once more.

"But then, didn't you do worse?" Murasakibara commented. "You dragged him all around town dressed in a silly costume as a lucky item. You didn't even feed him~"

"Shin-chan's day after making Kuroko his lucky item was good afterwards. He was able to get two canned red bean soups with just the price of one..." Takao interrupted. Midorima then turned away from the two, making Takao hold in his laughter.

He then adjusted his glasses, thanking  _him_  mentally. If anything, he would say that he had the best luck with  _him_  as a lucky item.

"Uhm, could I say something too?" Kise butted in, letting Murasakibara and Takao turn to him. "Sure, Kise-chin..." Murasakibara replied, nodding slightly.

Kise was thankful to these people. They had made the atmosphere lighter. Some were laughing, and the tense atmosphere was gone.  _He_  didn't want a tense atmosphere as far as Kise knew. Kise knew  _he_  
wanted everyone to get along and have a good time. Seeing everyone gather for  _him_  would definitely make  _him_  glad.

"Kurokocchi, I'm back! I'm sorry for not seeing you much, too," Kise started, letting himself talk casually and flamboyantly as he used to. "I wanted to give you a souvenir but I didn't know what you wanted. It's a shame I don't know, considering I'm your best friend. Sorry for  
not knowing about some things, either."

The last one was a mere slip of the tongue. It was enough to extinguish the small spark of joy the other three had made. He looked around and saw the despair in their faces, but others had taken it as  
a joke and laugh distastefully. He mentally cursed himself and stopped talking as a result.

 

 

The darkness had entered him as he began his self-wallowing. He was in Germany that time, and at the middle of the night, he had received a call from someone in Japan. He had ignored the call several times and tried to go back to sleep, but his phone had ringed nonstop. He decided to pick it up, rudely greeting the person who had no consideration of the time zone differences.

He was then woken up by the soft sobbing at the other end of the line. It was a woman, who had difficulty in talking because she was crying at the same time. He instantly became nervous, and he was filled with concern. “ _Momocchi, is there something wrong?_ ” he softly asked. She was not responding, which made him ask the question several times, until his voice turned desperate.

“ _Ki-chan,_ ” she managed to say, but then she cried once more. He stayed silent as he let her finish her sentence. As she continued to cry, he could feel a heavy weight hang by his chest. His heart started beating loudly as well.

And as the pink-haired woman said the news, his eyes were widening. He couldn’t believe what he heard. He could feel that her voice was getting distant, and was replaced by a loud ringing in his ears. The heavy weight that was on his chest had grown, and was dragging him down to the darkness. He stayed still for a few moments until the other line had hung up. There was someone else who talked before hanging up, but the news he had received beforehand had let him dumbfounded.

_Kise didn’t cry; he couldn’t. It would have been easier if he did._

_He didn’t go back to Japan as he was demanded. He was too afraid to look at him again._

_He had drowned himself in his work as much as he can, only to suddenly break down and cause a mess._

 

 

“I’m sorry… For not going.” Everyone looked at the blond model who started talking again. His voice was shaking, and so were his crumpled fists. “I was too afraid, to see you again…”

Tears had started falling from his eyes. He also felt that the rain was coming back, and was stronger than a while ago. “I only knew you as the amazing best friend I never knew I had. Even if you were to disagree with me right now, yeah, I’m your best friend. But what kind of friend am I? I didn’t even have the courage to face you for the last time.” He let out a sour laugh and wiped his tears before continuing. “I’m so sorry, Kurokocchi… I’m so sorry…”

He continued to mutter his apologies, burying his face with his hands. He started sniveling like a little child. He also heard a few sniffing from some of the people that was behind him. He could hear someone crying loudly. She was the person who had a romantic interest with the blue-haired man. He was the first one to notice that. Kise knew that she had loved him for years and had never let go of her feelings, up to this day.

A hand then tapped his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Aomine. He remained to stay strong, but he was near to breaking as well. He had heard that Aomine locked himself up in his room for one week, not even visiting his friend’s final moments on earth. Once he had opened his room, it was found that it was a complete mess.

Kise had stopped crying, and saw the tanned man look up to the sky and mutter something. It was inaudible, but he could see the tear streaking his cheek, mixing with the rain.

“It’s no point hiding it, everyone…” someone said out loud. It was Akashi, who looked down at the inscription on the marble with distressed eyes. Despite his strong and authoritative personality,  _he_  was important to Akashi. Akashi had taught him the style of basketball they all learned to love.

“If I were to say that we need to accept the fact that he had left us and we should accept it, I would be lying, and I wouldn’t want that,” Akashi started to say. Nothing had changed in his voice but Kise knew he was struggling as well. “He was important to all of us. We all have learned something from him. He had never seen himself as important, but we all did. We were proud of him, even if he wasn’t of himself. It  _was_ , and  _is_  hard for all of us to move on…”

Kise laughed darkly to Akashi’s words. Everything that he said was true, and represented every one of them. But, he had restricted himself just to say those words. As a former teammate, a former enemy, and a friend, Akashi had more to say to  _him_. What was stopping him?

He then looked at everyone else. Aomine, in his own way, was comforting Momoi. She couldn’t stop sobbing and calling her beloved’s name. The Malamute, who was once the small Nigou, whined and had curled himself around the marble obelisk. Those who had the courage to express their feeling had cried their eyes out, the cowards had remained silent. The former Miracles only bore to stand infront of the grave, their hands shaking and their defenses crumbling. The skies cried down together with them, making it worse. Despair was evident to everyone’s faces, and it seems they have lost the will to smile again.

_If he were here, he would be disappointed._

 

 

“Hey…” A spark had emerged. Another emotion beside sadness and sorrow had come into play. “What’s with all this bull you’re showing me?”

The growing darkness that was within them has temporarily stopped. All have looked into the direction of the voice, shocked faces looking at him quizzically.

“Idiots, why are we here to show our sad faces to the midget?! Are we here to feel sorry about ourselves, huh? Is that what you want him to see?” The redhead, the Shadow’s Light, had taken everyone’s attention. He too, was shaking. His voice was shaking. His eyes also showed despair, but was currently being overtaken by the anger stirring inside of him.

“This is the only time we’re seeing him, but we’re giving him  _this_. He must be really disappointed by now.” His words sting, but they were true.  _They knew that_.

“Listen, if there’s anything that Kuroko wants besides his milkshake is that he wants us to be happy no matter what, not wallow in pain because he’s not here with us anymore.” Kagami Taiga, one of Seirin’s legendary aces, stated. He was having a hard time to talk, and he was letting his emotions get the best of his words, but it was for the best. So far, he was the only one who could truly say what’s in his heart infront of the grave.

“Kagami—”

“I swear I want to staple all your faces into smiles if you don’t stop making those smug faces! I cannot take you people anymore…” Kagami screamed, and looked at everyone. It was then he noticed everyone was looking at him, and now he didn’t know what he is to do next. He wanted to look away, but he didn’t know where to look.

“Nice speech, Kagami…” Kiyoshi blurted out, standing up. He was about to be helped by his former teammates, but he declined, taking his cane and placing his feet on the now wet ground. “You could have cut out some of the swearing, though.”

“I-I couldn’t help it…” Kagami protested.

“But you’re right. If there’s anything that Kuroko wants us to be, is that we would be here happy to see each other, not because we’re remembering such a tragic event. But, it’s a part of it. Pain is part of life…”

“I could use that.”

“Shut up, Izuki.”

“Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen all of you guys. Let’s go and have some fun,” Kiyoshi said. “I think it’s the best way to start from there.”

“Oh, the rain’s starting to lighten up,” Murasakibara commented, opening his palm to feel the heaviness of the rain.

“The rain raids a parade… I could use that.”

“I swear to God, Izuki. I will murder you…”

“That’s the spirit~” Kiyoshi said, draping his arms unto Izuki and Hyuga’s shoulders.

“I wish we could have a picnic here, but the grass is so wet~” Murasakibara complained.

“Let’s borrow a table and chairs from the guard station, Atsushi.”

“That’s a great idea, Muro-chin.”

“Get that stray cat away from me!” Midorima shrieked, hiding behind the wet tree.

“Shin-chan, are you sure you’re a man? You scream like a girl…” Takao called, holding in his laughter.

“Hey, who’s going to help Murasakibara and Himuro carry those tables and chairs?” Seirin’s female coach called.

“Me and Kasamatsu-senpai are going!” Kise called out, jogging towards Himuro and Murasakibara.

“Hey, don’t drag me into things like this… and don’t call me senpai!” Kasamatsu retorted, itching to kick the blond in the back.

“We need one more person for the chairs and tables!” Aida called out once more, but no one seemed to respond.

“I’m going.” She looked at the direction of the voice, and she started to panic, thinking that Kuroko possessed someone for him to use his lack of presence.

“It’s not Kuroko, Seirin coach.” She heard the voice again. Turning around, she saw Mayuzumi staring at her. It surprised her, but not as much as Kuroko did years back. “O-okay…” she said, and the former Rakuzan player had jogged towards the four.

“Aomine, don’t ravage on the food. We’re not even starting…” Momoi complained, looking down on her childhood friends with swollen eyes. She took the bag with their food supplies away from him.

“I won’t even bother to look at what you brought, Satsuki. I’m finding for the one from Seirin, the one who couldn’t talk,” Aomine responded, and a smack on the head returned.

“Mitobe can talk. Who the heck doesn’t think he can?” Koganei wondered, looking at his unspoken friend, who was shrugging as well.

“See, just like that…”

“Exactly the point,” Furihata, Kawahara, and Fukuda – Seirin’s former freshmen trio thought, feeling as if all three of them could hear one another.

“Koganei, you do know that we still can’t understand Mitobe’s way of expressing,” Tsuchida, another former power forward of Seirin, stated. Even though he had married Mitobe’s sister at this point in time, he still cannot understand him, and some of his family members, when they try to express themselves by body language and not by speech. Thankfully, his wife isn’t one of them.

Kise took one last glance at the group as he was about to walk away from them. A small smile crept upon his face as he could see the Seirin redhead stand infront of their friend’s grave. He just stood there, but he wasn’t shivering anymore. He was calm and it seemed that his thoughts were now sound.

 

* * *

 

“Thanks for speaking out for me, Kagami-kun.” Kagami remained calm as it seemed that he could hear his voice and his luminescent body appeared infront of him, but he was unable to touch him. He knew he was insane, but he had prayed that he would give  _anything_  to see his old friend again. This is the most he could get.

“I think you possessed me for a while there, Kuroko. I had no idea what I was saying…” Kagami replied calmly. He didn’t care if he sounded insane infront of the others; he was having the chance of his lifetime.

“I wouldn’t do that to you.” The ghost then let out a smile, followed by a silent chuckle. The redhead can’t help but smile himself.

“Kagami-kun.” The redhead fell silent once again once he heard the voice in his head call his name. It was his conscience or something, but it seemed like it sounded like his old friend. The ghost had lifted his fragile hand, which still had a medicinal tape stuck to the back of his hand. He then placed it unto the other man’s cheek. It felt like the wind.

“If you can, could you do me a favor?” The ghost’s voice had caught his attention. It was crazy, but he was willing to do anything for him. “What is it, Kuroko?” he asked back.

“Could you go back?”

“Back?”

“Kagami-kun, I want you to go back to our high school days. I want you to never notice me again. I want that everyone could live without acknowledging my existence.”

Kagami couldn’t believe what his conscience was saying.  _Forget Kuroko_. They never forgot him in the first place; they never did. This ghost, in one way or another, had influenced all the lives of the people who are in here. Forgetting his existence was like losing a piece of your own.

“But don’t be mistaken. I want you all to be happy, even if it means  _that_. You know me; I can sacrifice something as great as my own self for everyone’s advantage.” The ghost had then removed his hand from the Kagami’s cheek. A tear now stained his face.

The redhead heard a loud bark. It came from the grown Nigou, who looked up to the ghost he was currently talking to. The ghost kneeled down and patted the dog’s head, which made Nigou wag his tail happily. The ghost had stood up again and the dog barked happily once more. It’s been a while since it acted like that.

“You think it’s  _that_ easy, Kuroko?” Kagami blurted out. The ghost’s sky blue eyes widened. He didn’t say anything else, but waited for the redhead to continue. “Kuroko,  _you idiot_! You were a part of our life. Without you, we wouldn’t be who we are now.”

Kagami’s voice had turned louder, catching the attention of his companions who were minding their own businesses. They were puzzled at first, thinking that Kagami had gone mad and was seeing things. But when they heard their old friend’s name, they removed the thought and turned insane themselves.

 “Are you freakin’ serious; _forget you_? I know you had insane plans before, Kuroko, but I know this time, it won’t… work.” Kagami walked forward, his finger pointing in the ghost’s chest, despite knowing it would do nothing to hurt him and help him make his point.

“Kagami-kun, please—”

“Don’t even say anything, Kuroko. You know, I’d put up a lot of your bull when you were alive. Don’t give me that even when you’re dead. Can’t you see that everyone notices your hardwork. Everyone knows how great of a person you are. You’re the only freakin’ one who couldn’t see that. That is not my fault, Kuroko. If you can’t see it, then… whatever! Just, stop giving me that kind of thinking, it’s stupid and sickening…”

“ _Yeah Kuroko! We notice how hard you’ve practiced even though you couldn’t shoot!_ ” The redhead and the ghost had looked to the direction of the voice, seeing their former captain call out to them.

“ _Tetsu, your banana passes are something else! Don’t drag yourself down!_ ” Another one had spoken. It was now Aomine Daiki, his other former light.

“Banana passes?”

“ _You couldn’t get pass me when you try to shoot normally, but I wouldn’t have had my best years in high school without you._ ” It was now Kiyoshi Teppei, who still sat down but wore a huge grin on his face.

The others as well were calling out to the ghost, even if they couldn’t see him. They kept on telling him of his great deeds and his awesome personality, and he shouldn’t degrade himself for no one saw him as such. The two had looked confused, together with the five people who just came back from bringing the chairs and tables.

The blond-haired, who showed the most confused face, had found his former red-haired captain simply standing, watching the incident that was unfolding within them. The captain had noticed their arrival, and walked towards them.

“Tetsuya is with us. Tell him how you really feel,” Akashi instructed, tapping Kise on his shoulder.

 

The rain had completely stopped. The gray clouds are turning white once again. The skies had opened and the sunshine greeted them. And as if God himself instructed, he let the sunlight shine on the white marble, its snow white color blinding their eyes. Its inscription of black and gold glistened with the sun. It shone too much, making it impossible for anyone in the area to not notice its beautiful writing. Its words had described the Sixth Phantom Man in the best way possible:

 

_“Kuroko Tetsuya, 22_

_Our Phantom Hero”_


End file.
